Subject: RE: Pain in my side, pain in my shins.... I've gone through a few bouts of shin splints since starting to run a little less than a year ago. Sometimes I'm able to fight through it, otherwise I've had to stop running, walk home, down some ibuprofen, and lay on the couch until the pain stopped. If you haven't already, look at getting fitted for shoes to make sure you have the right kind for you. The smart thing to do with shin splints is rest. I'm not smart though, and I just run through them. If it doesn't go away after a week or two of rest, or it gets worse, it might be time to get checked out by a doctor to make sure it's not something worse (stress fracture, for example). Since you're only on week 4 of Couch to 5K, I'm guessing a stress fracture is not in the works. As for the pain in your side, "side stitches" are the result of something to do with your diaphragm. When you feel one coming on, focus on breathing steadily and deeply, and timing your breathing every so many steps, etc, until it subsides. No problem with running through side stitches, the pain is entirely benign. |